Resembling a drunk, my granddaughter Charlotte teeters back and forth on unsteady legs as she walks towards me. Deciding to carry the largest and heaviest toy in the room, she makes frequent balance adjustments as she plows her way through a minefield of toys on the floor. I smile at the scrunched-up-nose grin on her face; that happy grin appears during moments when she is most proud of herself. “Slow down little one,” I say to her, not wanting her to fall, but, in a grander sense, not wanting her to grow up too fast. Although she’s not quite a year old, it’s hard for me to remember what life was like before this precious bundle of joy blessed it.

#1 – Stop Complaining! Some days I watch Charlotte for 15 hours straight, but I’m not complaining. I consider myself lucky that I’m physically able to do it and that my son and daughter-in-law trust me enough to care for their child. The act of complaining zaps the joy out of life, so stop complaining or at least do it less frequently. Read What It’s Like To Go Without Complaining For a Month and learn a few tips on how to complain less.

#2 – Coloring Stress Away Back in the “good ol’ days” before the invention of televisions, computers, and cell phones, kids would entertain themselves by coloring in their favorite coloring books. Remember the happy feeling you had after buying a new box of crayons and a new coloring book? Regain that happy and carefree feeling of being lost in art as you color away your day’s stress. Check out The Country Chic Cottage’s list of free coloring pages. Coloring is not just for kids!

#3 – Salads in a Jar Vacations are over. It’s back to school or back to work we go. And that usually means back to routines. Break the monotony of bag lunches by taking out unappetizing sandwiches and substituting tantalizing salads. Better yet, make the salads ahead of time in a jar and the next morning grab a jar and go. These 20 Mason Jar Salads to Pack for Lunch will give you a few recipe ideas for next week.

#4 – Admiring Glass One would think that glass is a cold and lifeless medium, but not in the hands of these 30 Most Amazing Glass Artists Alive Today. In their hands molten glass solidifies to become expressions of emotions and beauty. Ikuta Niyoko, one of the artists featured in the article, says this of her work, “My motifs are derived from feelings of gentleness and harshness, fear, limitless expansion experienced through contact with nature, images from music, ethnic conflict, the heart affected by joy and anger, and prayer.”

#5 – Be Surprised“We get a limited number of milestones in life, but we never run out of opportunities to be surprised by joy.”Connie Schultz

A miracle happened. A magnificent flower blossomed under the care of a person who has two brown thumbs. Yes, that person is me. Several years ago a friend gave me an orchid for my birthday. Acknowledging my inability to keep plants alive, she said something to the effect, “It’s pretty to look at now.” I believe in miracles, because not believing in them would mean I have no hope. Despite witnessing the orchid’s flowerless years, I always hoped it would bloom again. Knowing what little care I give to it, it’s a miracle to me that this plant has flowers at all and that, in itself, gives me hope that it will bloom again. Hope and miracles perpetuate each other.

#1 – 21 Questions About Yourself When I want to get to know a person better, I ask him questions. Following that logic, why not ask questions of myself to, perhaps, learn something from my answers? French writer Marcel Proust answered a questionnaire in a friend’s confession book, a type of autograph book popular in the late nineteenth century. The questions and subsequent answers were meant to reveal one’s innermost thoughts. Selecting questions from a Proust Questionnaire on Wikipedia and from Marta Randall’s Proust’s Character Questionnaire, I present you with 21 questions to answer about yourself. By answering honestly, you might learn something new.

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
2. When and where were you the most happiest?
3. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
4. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
5. Where would you like to live?
6. What is your favorite journey?
7. What is your most treasured possession?
8. What is your greatest extravagance?
9. What is your most marked characteristic?
10. Which talent would you most like to have?
11. What is it that you most dislike?
12. What is your greatest fear?
13. If not yourself, who would you be?
14. What is your greatest regret?
15. On what occasions do you lie?
16. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
17. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
18. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
19. What do you appreciate the most in your friends?
20. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
21. What is your motto?

#2 – Light Up Your World Here’s a project that will have you saying, “Why didn’t I think of that!” Buy new mason jars or, even better, repurpose glass jars you already have sitting in a kitchen cabinet and cover them with glass “pebbles.” The easy instructions are here.

#3 – Keeping Avocados Green This isn’t a miracle, but if it works, it’s a great kitchen tip. According to The Kitchn, the best way to keep avocados fresh and green is to store the cut avocado in an airtight container with a chunk of onion. Put the lid on the container and place it in the refrigerator. I plan on testing this tip out this weekend. Have any of you had success with this method?

#4 – Avoid The Lines Wouldn’t it be a miracle if you could just walk up to the Eiffel Tower and get to the top of it immediately without having to wait in line? For those of you who are planning vacations right now to a major tourist destination, this article How to Beat The Queues At The World’s Busiest Attractions may be of help.

#5 – Miracles Happen Everyday
Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you’ll see them all around you.Jon Bon Jovi

Now go and spread joy!

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